Kenny Sansom, the best Arsenal left back of the modern era. Get well soon.
I am not sure Arsène will have viewed the photo on the front page of the official site this morning, as the most flattering as it captures what seems to be a maniacal grin. I am not sure that the lunacy is his this morning though, others are making a sterling challenge for that title. It was strange enough to see Gael Clichy talking about other teams losing their nerve but headlines and articles about Wojciech Szczesny being on his way out of the club seem to confirm the existence of mass hysteria. Or journalism as it is more commonly known.
Which Pole will be in goal for Saturday’s visit to The Valleys is not clear. Robot in disguise, Fabianski staked a good claim with his performance in Munich, Szczesny would probably counter with the argument about how lucky his rival was to have a back four and midfield which hassled and harried their opponents, something Arsenal have not done since the opening weeks of the season. A few years back, Szczesny replied “Fabianski” to the question of who was the best goalkeeper at the club. It was a surprising answer given that at the time the elder of the pair had been going through a tough time, his detrimental sobriquet adorning newspaper headlines whenever he played. Yet redemption was hinted at in the Carling Cup, especially during the 4 – 1 win at White Hart Lane. The rumoured training ground form seemed ready to transition to the first team.
Whatever choice Wenger makes, both Poles have similar failings in technique when put under pressure but if Fabianski could prove that this were a permanent change in his footballing demeanour, there would be a strong case for his services being retained in the Summer when his contract runs out. Whether he will get that chance remains to be seen. The problem for Wenger is that unless he buys a proven world-class (always a subjective term, I know), whomever we are linked with never really seems like anyone better than we already have at the club. Only Wenger will know if we genuinely were interested in Lloris, a player whose copybook seemed to be blotted with a problem handling crosses at international level. Previous targets touted have been Freidel, Given and of course, Schwarzer. Hindsight questions whether the problem now would be complaints of a goalkeeper losing it now he has reached the other end of the age spectrum to Szczesny. And what of Reina, whose mistakes and errors are of a higher level of tomfoolery than any Arsenal goalkeeper? It is a tough position to fill, the talent pool small and the outstanding goalkeepers generally playing at big clubs.
That’s a problem for the Summer though. Right now, the focus is on the Premier League. Wenger spoke of the improved performance in Munich,
I believe that last night we played with determination, authority and cohesion. We won a big game. Let’s be inspired by that for the rest of the season. We showed more authority in the duels. We were more on the front foot and less on the back foot. A part of it is mental when you defend as well, to show that you’re there to be respected and I think we did that very well.
Part of good management is listening to others and the sea-change in tactics suggests he was influenced by his coaching staff. Ultimately though, Arsène put his neck (once more) on the block and the players responded well. Whether they have the mental ability to repeat that on a regular basis is a difficult case to substantiate. Looking back to the win at Anfield in the early stages of the season, Per Mertesacker said,
We believed in ourselves – that was the most important thing and we played fantastic. We now have to focus on our strengths and that is vital for the next few weeks, to stay near the top of the league.
The same holds true now, the major difference is that there are only a few weeks left of the season giving the players little time to recover points dropped. Arsenal are in the position where dropping points is not an option, seven points behind Tottenham, five behind Chelsea with ten games to go. Games in hand are irrelevant, the ten remaining are all that matter, maximising points the objective. The Liverpool win gave a short-term confidence boost but within eight weeks, that evaporated. Wenger and his staff face the task of not permitting that to happen again. And it is not an easy battle to win. Nothing so far this season has suggested that one single victory can have such a positive influence on this group. That said, I don’t think Arsenal have recorded a win of this magnitude so far.
Saturday is almost upon us, two matches in three days before a fortnight of nothingness. There’s a Manic Street Preachers song to be made out of that, something like “If you tolerate this, then your football club will be next” or “Footballing Emptiness“.
’til Tomorrow.
Good write up yogi I think continuity with the whole team that faced bayern barring injury is vital gibbs might drop out for nacho but I expect vermealen to stay on the bench and kos to continue along side mertasaker.
Fabiansky like his polish counter part suffer from lapses in concentration that blight their undoubted talent hoping one them takes the jersey by the stuff of the neck for the remaining 10 games.
Great pic.
Get well soon Kenny.
I agree best lb for us.! So far but Gibbs could have a say on that if he stays out of the treatment room, he must be sick of having to keep going in there and playing diaby at FIFA .
Morning YW,
looks like they’ve changed the picture of the website as they are showing one of Wenger’s tight-lipped scowls now.
Whilst the game on Wednesday was scrappy and showed more about the team’s determination than their talent, I would largely put some of our more sloppy play on the night down to an understanding of the enormous task the players had ahead of them and a desperation to get the ball forward and try to score. If a few more of those passes had come off we might well have nicked that third goal and would have been lauding a fantastic victory for the team. As it is we were all able to enjoy a very good victory on the night against a team that doesn’t get beaten very often.
I don’t think Bayern were sitting back on Wednesday, they came forward but were blocked by a defence playing very well together on the night. Most of their shooting chances were from outside the box with maybe one Robben chance and a shot from Gustavo really getting close.
If we play with that defensive steel for the rest of the season we are in with a good shout for a CL spot and if the passes that nearly came off were to start getting through we will look a very dangerous proposition for anybody who comes up against them.
We need to start that against Swansea at the weekend and dictate the game to them, rather than letting them dominate us. They are a good passing team given the space, but we proved on Wednesday that we have the mentality to disrupt a team who like to move the ball around.
2nd Excellent Write up YW..would expect nothing less. Wednesday night’s Game raises that question once again of why oh why are ” We” not performing on a more consistent basis.
What is evidently clear fro me is that Koz n Mert as defensive duo work much better than TV n PM. A blind can see that. I think the back should be left intact. WS n TV should not walk back into the side. In TV’s case even more so irrespective of him being club captain. He’s not been at his best this season.
I think Arsene is likely to shop this summer in a possible number of German markets and may even try his hand in more Southern climes. Iberian peninsula maybe. I’ve watched Celtic play a few times this season and think Wanyama at Celtic is purrfeect for Arsenal. He can play in defence but also hold. I dream to see him Red n White.
We’ve got to win tomorrow at Swansea. Simple as.
When I started reading this morning’s post YW there was only 1 post. I sat there pontificating what to write and now relegated to 4th ? 5th maybe? Cest la vie
Out of the Champions League places, Ras. Thursday night commenting for you
Got to say YW you are doing a great job though I might not always agree with your views. Your write ups are always balanced. Keep up the good work.
Nice one yogi,so now the papers are saying szczesny is on his way? yep,course he is. Get well soon Kenny Sansom,the best Arsenal left back I’ve ever seen and the finest Norman Wisdom impersonator as well.
Yogi I have to say you never stoop down to the levels of moaning or Bitching . No matter what your talking about. Top stuff .
In contrast to two seasons ago when we had to drag Mad Jens out of retirement the dilemma of choosing between Fabianski and Szcz is not a bad one to have.
I was around to see Kenny play for us but I think people’s view of Ashley Cole the person is understandably clouding the issue here.
Steve, never.!
Your love alone is not enough.
Do we know what pie Kenny had?
Yes YW I’ll have to accept my lot.
dukey
There are those who never make it out of the spam bin who would claim otherwise. Someone called Slade told me that from a distance, I’d almost pass as a supporter in the pre-match preview this week. Dunno why he ended up straight in the spam bin but couldn’t be arsed to pull him out of it.
Onwards and forwards! onwards and forwards i say! We will win tomorrow or I will eat my hat(or more to it my woolen beanie)!
Great post yogi:
We should have bought Schwarzer before the 10/11 season. If we had, we would have won the CC and the league that year and and then gone on to win multiple trophies and become the envy of the know footballing world by now. I think.
I have always liked Fabianski. I sort of hope he finds his confidence and becomes the cracking #1 we always needed.
I like Charlie Nicholas but his pie at highbury corner is awful,it’s the Tony Adams for me every time, I think Sansom just nicks it in front of Cashley as a player, as a man it’s no contest of course.
Szczesny has all the makings of a great goalkeeper. He may have gone through a bad patch this season, but who doesn’t? He is very young and, like the whole team, needs belief before anything.
You know I read the article about Szcz and TV5′s imminent departure over the summer. What utter tosh! This season has certainly seen TV5 struggle with consistentency but it hapopens to all players, it does not indicate that TV5 should be sold. Szcz is what 21/22 years of age, playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world and we are going to shift him because he makes some errors?? Bollocks, what absolutely crap journalism. Article’s like these are destined for the stack in the outhouse, at least there it’ll have a purpose.
Miami.
I think wojo will be a very good keeper. Despite all that he has been thru I have always had a soft spot for fabianski. He clearly is an excellent technical keeper. Everyone says he is the best at the team.
Who is playing best. That’s is the key. Which keeper gives us the best chance to win. Now is nut cutting time for the guys. We have to win at least seven outta the last ten matches to make it to third place. We can’t afford any more brain farts. We have a real good shot at third place possibly second.
The important choice tomorrow is to stick with the Kos/BFG partnership. Both poles could do the job in goal.
@Bill
I like you have faith in Fab, he should be further along than Szcz but in my opinion I just don’t see it. I am gald he gave a good performance in the Bayern game and moreso for the fact he was communicating with the players around him. That said, I would take a Begovic or Mignolet as competition for Szcz than Fab.
Great stuff Yogi.
I agree with you re Kenny Sansom. Finest LB imo at Arsenal since I started going (1970). I know it’s unfashionable but I can never get too vitriolic about players once they’ve worn the red and white of Arsenal (with the exception of those who disappear down the wrong end of the Seven Sisters Rd), so I don’t think my judgement is clouded too much by Mr Cole’s subsequent cuntery.
It’s always very difficult to compare players from different eras such has the game changed, but for my money Kenny had the edge. He wasn’t too far behind Cole going forward, and was much the better defender. Very very few wingers got the better of him.
He was unbelievably consistent throughout his career at Arsenal in a much much lesser side than Cole had the good fortune to play in. Somewhat ironic then that that League Cup Final against Liverpool was one of his poorer games when he seemed beset by nerves.
He still edges it for me though, and as Mel alludes, if there is any doubt, then surely his Mr Grimshaw swings it in Kenny’s favour.
As for the Goalkeeping situation, I said over at ‘Holic’s place yesterday that I couldn’t help feeling that wednesday’s game might have suited Fabianski. It was a game where little was expected of the Side and the pressure was essentially off. Still, couldn’t fault him on the night, and he deserves the chance to see if he can do it all again at Swansea. His demeanour did appear to be in marked contrast to the frightened rabbit that he has often resembled in the past. It all augurs well. Still think Sches is the better long term bet, but he’s been far too comfortable in the position with only Mannone to push him.
The keeper decision is a huge one and goes beyond just tomorrow.
The longer he leaves out WS then the more the story will grow, the story about him being rested due to being mentally jaded or whatever will have passed and it will simply be a decision based on the man in form. How will WS react to that scenario then, all of a sudden the club number 2.
Remember also that Fabianski wanted out last summer and we were apparently more than happy to go along with it, if that scenario still stands and we know he will look to leave in 2 months then should we persevere or hope that the reality shock of being dropped on Wednesday wakes up the younger Pole.
Will we go back to WS when the inevitable clanger drops from Fabianski? A club should have a number one keeper, it should be relatively set in stone.
The thing about Kenny was that he was a good footballer, a flair player when going forward, a decent defender, an automatic England starter at a time when we really did not have a lot of quality on the pitch. He would have graced any club in the First Division, yet he played for us.
Yogi honestly your writings always bring me great joy and the anticipation for reading them is only matched by our Arsenal playing.
I think Verm at this point needs to sit down and release himself of the burden of the armband as his play this season for the most part has been sub-par at best. I also think that Fabianski should get the start on Saturday if only to rest Sczny which wouldn’t hurt him at all. We have to remember that goalkeepers are a different breed of player, many times they are like fine wine as they get better with age. I have always thought that when fit having both Fabianski and Sczny we couldn’t go wrong with either.
I can honestly say that Arsene will probably buy somebody and why I do love the thought of Wanyama coming to the Arsenal I think we may get outbid and trust me lads when I tell you, Capoue or Gonalos would be a perfect fit at Arsenal as well.
Kenny was also part of one of the most bizarre transfer stories in many, many years.
Best silly rumor of the day: Arsenal preparing a 30M bid for Isco. Would love to see him in the Red and White but just don’t see it happening unless he wants to play with Santi and Nacho.
Interesting comparison of Sansom and Cole, and I too think Sansom shades it while playing for us. Suprised though that no-one mentions Winterburn who IMO was the best of all as a defender and very good going forward.
As to goalies, I don’t think either are of the class we would expect of an Arsenal keeper in the line of Kelsey, Wilson, Seaman and even Lehmann, although I hope and believe WS could come to be in that class. He needs pushing and I think probably an experienced goalie might be better for that than Fab.
On another topic – the very narrow one of the battle for 3rd and 4th, things probably couldn’t have worked out better during the week.
We probably gained confidence and have no more fixtures. Spuds had a shock, a tiring game and have more of it to come, and Chels added even more to their list of potential fatigue and injury. I sort of hope they both go through and get each other and can kick seven shades of simulation out of each other before the exhausted winner loses tamely to a Newcastle team who have meanwhile played reserve teams in the last 3 league games.
One can dream!
Flappy played well enough to deserve another game. szcz… Is not as good as he thinks he is at this stage of his career.
So good, in fact, that courtesy of Southwark Council, Kenny already has his own blue plaque in Camberwell, where he lived as a kid:
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200160/blue_plaques/2188/camberwell_blue_plaques/1
Always wondered if Sansom St in SE5 was named after him, too.
I was always a fan of Bob McNab as well but think Nigel was the best. To be honest, we have almost always had decent left backs.
C’Bob
Even Flint McCullough?
Like Tabs, I started going in 1970. So Bob McNab set the standard. He may have blotted his copybook, but [in my very humble book] Ashley Cole is on the same level as Kenny and Nutty.
Fabianski was fantastic to watch against Bayern. I would want to see him do the same in the remaining games that we can get into the top four.
We`ve been blessed with some great left backs over the years.
Nutty`s competitive streak made him a firm favourite with the fans & his pre-pen sledging of Brian McClair is legendary. Whilst Cole was similar in demeanour he always had more Graeme Le Saux about him than Nigel Winterburn. A mouthy tw&t.
I`d certainly go along with the consensus that Kenny S has been the best of them. Strangely , he rarely tackled anyone. He was good enough to pinch the ball or usher the danger away. Just wished he was as good in the bookies as he was on the pitch.
ormer
Kenny was a more complete player than Cole or Nutty. Better attacker, better defender, a true leader.
And I don’t recall Kenny ever saying he felt unloved
We don’t have a great record against Swansea but I think we can and will win today. It’ll be close. Snatch it for us Santi.
http://www.aclfarsenal.co.uk/?p=10824
It’s here!!!